I left NY for L.A. I was born & raised in Queens, graduated NYU film school, and worked for a few years in one of those glass skyscrapers.

I never liked NY. Never. L.A. has its problems, and I would like to leave L.A. someday, but never back to NY.

Of course, NY, like L.A., is so huge, there are many NY's, just as there are many L.A.'s. Everyone has their own experience of the city (like the blind men and the elephant). Some love the portion they experience, some don't.

It was just too urban for me. Too much concrete. Too much garbage in the streets. Too many homeless.

Of course, if you're rich, you can live well anywhere. I suppose if you're rich in NY, you can afford to live in a comfy, air-conditioned security bubble, and keep the crap at the distance. But I assume that's not you.

At the risk of being, oh, several months late in my reply, may I suggest the Peace Corps? West Africa is the new Hollywood, take it from one who's seen it. And the talent works for peanuts! Come on, Atlas, let me prove to you that the doings here warrant my return to the sacred rolodex.

I know exactly how you feel. Sometimes it's time to move on and get the #$%&! out of dodge. Being from the East Coast I miss the snow, getting around on the subway and the fast paced lifestyle. But then again I love things here in LA, like the close proximity to the beach, the almost 365 days of the year filled with sunshine which of course means I no longer need to own a lightbox for my seasonal affective disorder :)